Everyone Has A Second Chance (Harry Potter and Flashpoint Crossover)
by missscarlatti713
Summary: So I love Flashpoint, and I love Harry Potter. So I thought I would try to bring the two together. This thought popped into my head and I thought I would run with it while it was still fresh in my mind. It's a bit half-baked so I'm not sure how long it will last, but there's no harm in trying right? Give it a chance if you like it let me know.
1. Chapter 1

Life had taken a very odd turn for Harry Potter. One moment he was part of a battle to drive Death Eaters out of Hogwarts, and the next he was standing in a Canadian airport with his headmaster, his friends, and the one who had let the Death Eaters in the castle in the first place.

"Why are we here again?" Draco asked examining the Muggles rushing about with disdain.

"It will be the safest place for all of you at the moment." Dumbledore answered without glancing up from the knitting magazine he had pulled from out of nowhere on the plane.

"How on earth can this be safer than Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"And why do we have to be here?" George asked.

Fred added on, "We're old enough to be useful to the Order.

"It's the way things need to be at the moment, but if it makes you two feel better you're an extra bit of protection for the others. Now, there is much that needs to be explained to both sides of this arrangement, and I would prefer for both sides to be here."

Hermione slammed her book shut. "Sir when exactly is this other wizard going to be here? It's nearly been two hours since our plane has landed."

"She probably got caught up with something at work, it shouldn't be too much longer now. And she's not exactly a wizard."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean not exactly a wizard?"

"She has the bloodline, and quite possibly the power, she just doesn't believe it enough to try."

Draco opened his mouth to comment but was interrupted by Fred. "Incoming. Very frazzled female moving towards us fast. I have a Sickle that says it's the wizard we are waiting for. Anyone want to take the bet?"

By then she had reached them. "Sorry I'm late. There was a bomb in a library, except it wasn't a bomb, it was a distraction so that we wouldn't find the real bomb which was in the part across the street. Thing went off, city was a mess, the paperwork was a mess, our bomb guy is now a mess, and now I'm late so this is a mess. Gosh I said the word mess like four times in one sentence." She was around 5' 7" with dirty blonde hair, and dark brown eyes that were currently full of panic.

The only one who wasn't staring at her like she was nuts was Dumbledore. "Sounds like quite the day. But perhaps we should get to someplace a little less populated before we discuss everything we need to cover in the short amount of time we have."

"Brilliant idea Dumbledore, but I would like to know the names of the people I'm about to cram into my truck."

"Ah, yes. Of course. This is Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and Draco Malfoy."

She had been messing with her keys and following Dumbledore's gestures and nodding with each name, but she froze at Draco's. "Malfoy?"

Draco immediately went of the defensive. "Something wrong with my name?"

"Except for the fact that it's mine?"

Now everyone was frozen. Draco blinked several times to refocus. "What?"

"As I said earlier a lot needs to be explained to both sides. And I would prefer to not do that in an airport." Dumbledore said calmly.

"Either you're going to need to do some magic on my truck, or some of you are sitting on the floor and hoping we don't get into an accident." She said before heading towards the door.

They all hurried to catch up. Harry ended up being to only soul brave enough to actually walk next to her. Or the only one who was willing to walk fast enough to keep pace. "You never told us what your name is."

"I guess I didn't. Sorry I got a bit of a shock there. I'm Tori. Tori Malfoy."


	2. Chapter 2

In the end Dumbledore did cast a spell on the truck to make room so they can all sit inside comfortably. "If you just leave it like this will any non-magical people notice?"

"Not if you put the right spin on the story." He said.

"Great. Then leave it." She said as she unlocked the door to her house. "Welcome Ladies and gents to La Casa de Malfoy. If you want to fight over who's sleeping where now, go for. If like me you want to understand what the hell is going on then just toss your stuff by the door and find a seat." She said sitting on the floor with her back leaning against the end of the couch.

Everyone immediately tossed their bags aside and found a place to sit.

"So what do you want to know first?"

"How about a little more information on the person you're going to leave us with for who knows how long?" Ron said.

"Tori can tell most of her story to you later if she wishes to share it. The main thing is she will keep you safe. She has a set of skills and training that makes her dangerous to people who cross her."

Tori smirked. "I know how most of this bit goes, but tell them about who I came from."

"Ah, yes. I'm sure that will answer many questions. Tori is the daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."

"But that's impossible. I don't have any siblings, let alone a sister." Draco burst out.

Tori's dark brown eyes got even darker. "Figures daddy dearest wouldn't bring up the fact that he abandoned his child because she wasn't everything he was hoping for. Not only did he give me up for adoption, he took me to America to do it."

"My parents wouldn't-"

"Maybe our mother wouldn't. I don't know because I know nothing about her. But I do know I tracked him down a couple of years ago. He said I've been as good as dead to him since the day he left me outside the first police station he found."

Silence feel over the room and stayed long enough to become awkward. Finally Fred broke it. "So did you know you had a brother?"

"Yeah. Lucius made it clear that baby number two was a fitting replacement." She adjusted her ponytail, and changed the subject by pointing a question at Dumbledore. "Why are they here? I get that need protecting and you've kept me informed on all the not so lovely things happening in your world, but how am I supposed to keep them safe from an enemy that has better tricks than me?"

"Voldemort has suffered a major blow that will take time for him to recover from. He wants to go undetected while he recovers and rebuilds his numbers. At the same time it would be convenient for him to go after Harry if the opportunity presents itself."

"That doesn't explain how being with me keeps them safe. The enemy must have magic stronger than theirs if they need my protection, but here's' the thing I don't think you understand: I don't have magic."

"On the contrary you do. You just don't want to believe it. Which is odd given your infatuation with Disney."

"Disney?" George whispered.

"It's Muggle company that has pretty much taken over the animated film industry." Hermione whispered back.

"What does that have to do with magic?"

"I have no clue how to explain Disney magic to you. You need to experience it yourself."

"How am I supposed to fight a wizard and win Dumbledore?" Tori asked holding her arms out in exasperation.

"Voldemort doesn't want to draw attention to himself. Using magic draws attention."

"So you're telling me that if he's going after these guys he's going to fight like a Muggle?"

"As long as the confrontation happens in a public place."

"Do you really think he's going to come all the way out here?"

"I have no idea what he's going to do in that sense, but it is better to be prepared and have nothing happen than to be caught off guard." He stood. "I think that answers all the questions that you can't answer for each other. I will keep in contact, and return to bring you back to Hogwarts for the next school year."

"Wait, that's it? You're just going to leave us here with a total stranger who we know nothing about?" Draco asked.

"Actually Draco she's not a total stranger she's your older sister. As for the not knowing anything about it each other, you'll have all summer to learn something. Good luck to you all." With that final statement he walked out the back door. The click of the door closing was punctuated by the crack of him Apparating away.

Tori sighed and stood up. "Well then, I'm starving. Who wants some pizza?"

Three boxes of meat lover's pizza later and the debate of sleeping arrangements was well underway. "Ok look guys I only have one actual guest room. Divvy that how you want, but the remaining people have can either all sleep in the basement or have someone crash on the couch in the living room."

Her words were met with resounding silence. "If I have to be the bad guy and divide it up myself, I will." Still getting nothing back she sighed and drank the last of her iced tea. "Fine, Ginny and Hermione get the guest room. The boys are banished to the basement. If someone still wants the couch they are welcome to it."

"I guess I'll have the couch then." Draco said

Tori nodded approvingly. "Now that that's sorted go put your stuff away and then prepare yourselves for the wonderful world of Disney. Because based on what I heard earlier you guys are horribly deprived."

Everyone returned to the living room ten minutes later to find Tori in sweatpants and a tank top sitting on the floor trying to explain the finer details of Disney movies to Draco. "Dude you're just going to have to deal with it because pretty much all of theses are in essence musicals. That is part of the charm of a Disney movie."

"So what are we watching?" Ginny asked taking a seat next to Harry on the couch.

Tori glanced at them. "I'm thinking of kicking it off with the _Lion King_ , followed by _Mulan_ , and then if anyone wishes to continue to be awake _Frozen_. And is anyone else in this little group together or is it just you and Harry?"  
Everyone looked startled. Tori looked up innocently. "What am I wrong?"

"No." Ginny said.

"Just how did you figure it out so bloody quickly?" Ron asked.

"A big part of my job is being able to read people. Now tell me Ron are you and Granger together or do you two have yet to admit your feelings to each other yet?"

Ron and Hermione both turned bright red and looked anywhere but at each other.

"Whoops. That answers my question." Tori said as she finished setting up the movie and plopped down in the spot that the twins made for her between them.

"What happened there?" Fred asked pointing to the bandage on her collarbone.

Tori kept her eyes on the screen as she answered. "I got shot." Feeling them all staring at her in shock she rushed to explain. "I'm alive and well. It's not as big a deal as you think. Getting shot at and staring down the barrels of guns is actually a big part of my job description. I've been worse and I've seen worse. My only issue right now is that I can't go back to work until the doctor clears me."

"Didn't you show up late to get us because something came up at work?" George asked.

"Yes well I go to the station a lot, but I'm not allowed to do any of the training, workouts, or go out on calls. And I can't clock in. I pretty much go there because I have nothing better to do and I can't stand the idea of my team going out there without me to help them figure the situation out."

"What do you do?" Harry asked.

"I probably should have led with that. I work for the Strategic Response Unit. We're badass cops who are trained to defuse some very dangerous situations. Now hush yourselves, the movie is about to start. And be warned, I know all the words to all the songs, and I will sing them."


	3. Chapter 3

Draco woke up to the cupboard doors being slammed in the kitchen. After five minutes of trying to tune it out, he gave up and went to investigate. "Do you really have to make so much noise?"

"Sorry, not used to having other people in the house."

He sat down at one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar. "So what are you making?"

"Your conversational skills need work my friend. Bacon and eggs. That shouldn't get too many complaints right?"

"No that'll be fine."

Silence fell. Neither one of them knew what to say to each other. After five minutes Tori tried to break it. "So what did you do?"

"What?"

"They all seem pretty close, but you're on the outside. Why?"

"I've never gotten along with any of them. But I made things worse by letting Death Eaters into the castle."

"Why would you do that? Even if you don't like Harry, you unleashed psychopathic killers on a bunch of innocent kids."

"Because that's what I was told to do. I am one. So are my parents." He paused. "Our parents."

"Oh no, you can keep them to yourself. I'm perfectly fine with having nothing to do with them. Now for the more pressing issue. If you're one of them, why are you here?"

"Dumbledore gave me a second chance. My mission wasn't just to let the Death Eaters in, it was to kill Dumbledore, and I couldn't do it. I don't want to be part of that world anymore. So Dumbledore decided to hide me too, so I can have a chance to prove I'm done with them. And probably to protect me. I've proved to be weak, so they'll try to kill me off."

"That doesn't prove you're weak. That proves you have a soul."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I'll be dead soon enough. They won't be able to trust me enough to back me up in a figh."

Tori sat down next to him. "Maybe they don't right now. But they just need to see that you're different now."

"But what if I'm not? What if people can't change?"

"People can change. I see it every day. Sometimes it's for better and sometimes it's for worse." She paused hearing footsteps running up the stairs from the basement. "Unless you're convinced this conversation is on hold. Better that way anyway. It's too early for me to be channeling my inner Greg Parker."

"Who's Greg Parker?"George asked strolling into the kitchen as Tori's phone started playing the NCIS theme song.

"The reason my phone is ringing right now." Tori said picking it up. "Hey Sarge, what's up?"

Hermione and Ginny walked. "What's going on?"

"Shh." Fred and George said. "We're trying to figure out who Greg Parker is."

"Who?" Ginny asked."

Tori heard them and threw the empty bacon packaging at them. "Yes I am alive. I figured I should hold off a day or two before submitting them to the hell of getting up at four in the morning that would be followed by the chaos of a call. If they want to check it out we'll be by later. And before you ask, yes I'm fine. Great. Peachy even. Have a nice day. Bye."

"So who was that?" Ron asked reaching for a slice of the bacon she had finished cooking while she was on the phone.

"My Sergeant. He's pretty much the concerned dad of the team. he was just calling to make sure I was alive because I didn't show up today."

"Why would you need to channel your inner him?" Harry asked.

"When I needed to give an inspirational speech, or talk someone into or out of something. He's the best one on the team at talkdowns." Tori replied handing out plates and silverware.

"The way you were talking sounded like you planned on bringing us to work with you." Hermione observed.

"How am I supposed to protect you if I'm not around you? Plus I thought you would find it cool. Dean and Clark do. Well, Dean does anyway. Clark just likes to get out of going to class."

"Why would we find it cool? And who are these other people?"

"Dean is Parker's son and Clark is Eddie's. And you mean to tell me you wouldn't find it the least bit interesting to hang out with a team of specially trained police badasses."  
Hermione looked unamused. "Doesn't sound like my particular cup of tea."

Tori finished chewing her bacon. "Fair enough. But we have something for everyone. You might find the talkdowns interesting. It's sort of a mind game."

No one looked completely convinced so Tori dug deep through the stories Dumbledore told of the student antics. "We're not all work. We raise our fair share of hell. I'm sure the guys will have no problem telling you about the time they put a tarantula in my locker."

Fred and George immediately perked up. "You guys pull pranks?"

"A rookie is fully accepted until they've been pranked. What they weren't expecting from me was retaliation."

"What'd you do?" The twins asked barely containing their enthusiasm.

"Spike had the brilliant idea so I followed him home that night. The next morning I was up a tree outside his house waiting with a paintball gun."

George downed the last of his juice. "I'm sold. Let's go."

Tori jumped up. "Sorry guys this house is a dictatorship so I only need the one vote to convince that it's the right thing to do. Let's move."

The moment they walked through the doors of the station they were spotted. "Malfoy, I thought you were going to listen to the doctor for one day, and take it easy." A tall bald guy said as he waved her into a conference room.

"Eddie you know that I am incapable of doing such a thing." Tori said as she took a seat on the ledge in front of the window.

"Guys these are the friends of a friend that'll be staying with me for a while: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Draco. Also fun fact, apparently Draco is my younger brother. Brits this is my team. Sarge, Eddie, Jules, Sam, Spike, and Wordy."

Sarge smiled. "Glad to hear you're finally connecting with your family Tori."

"Boss, believe me he's the only one I'm willing to talk to."

"Tori do you need to borrow the minivan? How on earth did you fit that many people in your truck?"

"I managed just find Wordy. And I wouldn't want to take your van from you. I know how much you love driving that thing around."

"Hey, I make it look cool."

"No, we make it look cool when all of us climb out of it when we got out for breakfast after overnight calls."

"Banter aside, I know you came here with a plan Tori. What do you want to show them?" Sarge asked.

Tori grinned. "Babycakes-"

"Of course." Spike interrupted.

"Shut up or I won't let you assist. Shooting, tactical, and maybe talk if we have time. What on the menu for you guys?"

"Bread and butter." Sam answered.

"Who's the warrant for?"

"Guns and gangs have a big bust lined up on the Vipers. Called us in to storm the gates and save the day." Eddie said sitting back down and putting his feet on the table.

"Why can't they just do it themselves?" Hermione asked.

Eddie chuckled. "Cause if ya ain't got the guts-"

"That's why we wear the cool pants." Sam finished.

"I'm not quite following that." Ginny said.

"In most cases like this the guys we find aren't going to want to go quietly. More likely than not they'll be a gun fight, and we're better trained at handling stuff like that than the Guns and Gangs detectives." Jules explained.

The conversation was interrupted by Winnie coming in waving a piece of paper. "Warrant's in."

The team immediately jumped to their feet. Sarge took control. "Alright let's gear up. We've gone over this more times than we can count. Let's be fast and let's be safe. Tori I'm assuming you want to be tapped into this. You guys can use this room, you know how to do everything you need to do."

With that Team one headed to the trucks.

Tori reached for a laptop and started typing into it.

Everyone moved closer to see what she was up to. "What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I'm tapping into their headsets. It'll tune us into what's going on."

"Why are we doing this?" Ron asked.

"You mean to tell me you aren't the least bit curious about what's about to go down."

"I might be."

"Then shut up and listen."


	4. Chapter 4

" _Bravo team what's going on?"_ Eddie asked.

" _Got a little hung up explaining to a neighbor why we were traipsing through the backyard. We're in position now."_ Sam replied.

" _Alright we move on my go."_

"What on earth are they saying?" Hermione asked, exasperated by the fact she had no clue what was going on.

"Calm down brainiac. They're just relaying info to each other. They split into two groups to cover both sides of the building. Sam's group just took too long to get in place for Eddie's liking. Eddie's team leader so he calls the tactical shots so he gets to say when they bust in."

"I thought you said you did talk before tactical."

"In most situations, but not when you're going after a gang very well known for not coming quietly when cops go in for an arrest."

Any further discussion was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire being exchanged as Team One entered the building.

Ginny's eyes went wide. "Are they dead?"

"They're tough. They'll be fine." Tori's confident words were betrayed by her nervous finger tapping.

" _Team One status."_ Sarge's voice came over the headset.

Spike, Wordy, and Sam sound off with a series of " _No harm."_

Jules came on next. " _No harm and Ed and I have two subjects in custody."_

Tori let a breath out. "So?"

"Honestly not as exciting as we thought." George said.

"Yeah, warrants are kind of boring-"

" _Team One hot call! We've got a call about a guy on a bridge. Team Three's still dealing with the hostages at the coffee shop. And can call in Team Four, but you're close to the location."_ Winnie said.

" _Things are pretty much wrapped up here. Give us the location Winnie, we're on the way."_ Sarge said.

Tori sat up straight and started fiddling with the laptop, and putting on an earpiece."Now you can see what we really do."

" _Boss the name is Nick Watson."_ Jules said.

" _Thanks Jules. Spike-"_

" _Already on it. And Tori I know you're plugged in. Want to help?"_

Tori smirked as she began her search. "Twenty says I find something useful before you do."

"What are you looking for?" Hermione asked.

"I knew this you draw you out. We're looking for anything that can tell us why this guy is trying to kill himself and something that we can use to convince him to hold on."

"What if he doesn't want to hold on?" Draco asked quietly.

Tori swallowed. "Then he dies and no matter how much we're going to think the opposite there is nothing we could have done."

"That sounds like the hardest thing to see." Harry said.

Tori gave a half smile. "When it goes well it's the best feeling in the world, when it goes wrong there's only one thing that feels worse….Flying fladoodle cakes. Hold that thought. Sarge I've got something."

" _I'm thinking I just found the same thing she found. This is not going to be fun Sarge._ "

" _Well someone explain."_

"Sarge this kid is in foster care. And it looks like one of my foster moms got tired of the Georgia sunshine and moved here. He's one of three kids that she's looking after right now. I use that phrase very loosely."

" _So he's got no home support, he's been neglected, and the best person to talk him down is sitting in the station because she's not cleared to work. Great. Jules, Tori's going to call you, and you're going to try to get him to talk to her."_

Tori muted the headset and whipped out her phone motioning for everyone else to stay quiet.

On the screen they could read the transcript as Jules tried to convince him to take the phone.

When he finally did Tori shifted from sassy, sarcastic badass to calm and reassuring. "Hi I'm Tori Malfoy. You're NIck right?"

" _Yeah. Why am I talking to you? And why over the phone?"_

"It's like Jules said. They figure I'm the best to talk this through and I'm unable to be in the field at the you tell me why we're all here today? I know the wording of that question is weird but it's the best I could think of to phrase it."

" _I can't go on."_

"Why not?"

" _I'm trapped in that house all the time. The only time I get out is school and that's not much better."_

"Nick, I know how you feel, but this isn't going to free you."

" _How can you know how I feel?"_

"A couple of years ago I was you. Trapped in a house with her and a group of other kids who were written off as lost causes. As dangerous and violent. But I wasn't like them. I didn't fight because I was vicious. I fought to survive. I held on to a tiny shred of hope that when graduation came better things would happen."

" _I don't have anymore hope. I have nothing."_

"Nick if you die then she wins. All this time no one has ever had the guts to show what she is, not even me. She's also never pushed someone to this point before. What you've done to this point has shown how crap she is at taking care of kids. Either way she'll have to go down now. But if you die then you won't be able to see it. You won't be able to see all of us win."

" _You're a cop and you haven't been able to go against her. How can what I'm doing change anything?"_

"Because-" Tori was cut of by him hanging up. She slammed the laptop shut cutting off the footage from the traffic cam Spike hacked into.

Sarge's voice came over the headset. " _Tori, it's not your fault."_

"Thanks Boss, but I'm fine. See you guys in a few." She said before tossing the earpiece on the table and walking out of the room.

Everyone sat in stunned silence. "So what do we do now?" Harry asked.

"Well someone needs to go and talk to her. See if she's ok." Hermione said.

"Well if you want to go right now be my guest. But I feel it would be safer to wait and give her some time to cool off." George said.

"There's also the question of who is going to go talk to her." Ron said.

Everyone turned to Draco. "Why me?"

"She's your sister." Hermione said.

"And she seems to have taken to you well enough to not kill you on sight." Ron added.

Draco sighed. "Fine. I'll go."

He found Tori in the workout room methodically beating the crap out of a punching bag. He cleared his throat and she looked up. She gave one final hit before sitting on the floor against the fall, motioning for him to do the same. When he did she spoke. "I'm fine.

"This may sound odd, but none of us are buying that story."

"I will be fine. It just hurts even worse than normal because it was so relatable. I was that kid. I never got to the point of outright suicide, but for a long time I was reckless partly because I knew no one would miss me if I died and partly because I wouldn't have minded dying."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the return of the team. Spike was the first one in the room and he dropped to the floor to wrap Tori in a bearhug. "You ok Tor?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It would be a lot better if I could breathe though."

He released her. "Sorry."

She gave a small smile. "You guys have two debriefings to go through and I'm pretty sure these guys have had their fill for the day. We're going to head out. Catch ya later."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tori's constant radio station switching was the only thing keeping an awkward silence at bay on the ride back. When they finally got back Ron tried to break it. "So what's for dinner?"

Hermione hit his arm with her book while Tori burst out laughing. "Brilliant question. I'm thinking burgers."

When Tori came in with the plate full of finally finished food she found everyone else sitting around the TV watching the news. "I come bearing food!" She announced setting the plate down in the kitchen and moving into the other room. "What disastrous events are occurring today?"

"When the commercial break is over they'll be talking about updates on a wrongful death lawsuit." Harry said.

"Well brilliant." Tori said snagging the remote and shutting the TV off.

"Hey-" Draco protested.

"Food, now. Before it gets cold."

"Alright love calm down." Fred said.

"You just have to promise to tell us what has you so wound up." George added.

"Fine whatever, just sit." She said taking her own seat and picking up her burger. She took two bites before noticing everyone staring at her. "What?"

"You agreed to give an explanation." Ginny said.

"Thought you would want to wait until after dinner, but ok. I'm being sued for wrongful death because a kid got hooked on meth and choose the wrong day to make a buy, and then continued with his bad decisions by pulling a knife on the officer moving in to arrest him. I was the sniper that day. It was a clean shot. The family doesn't want to believe that their perfect little angel could do something like that so I'm being sued. And this kind of thing pull the protesters and cop haters out of the woodwork howling for blood. Never mind the fact that the cop is dealing with enough emotional fallout from taking a life. Of a kid no less. The first day I was back after suspension I had to go through the back door to avoid a crowd of people who wanted me fired for doing my job. Also on that day I went on the call that got me the lovely little hole in my shoulder. And now I'm just babbling so I'm going to shut up."

After a minute of stunned silence Fred spoke. "So you shot somebody?"

"And they died. Yeah. And it's not the first time I've had to do it."

"And Dumbledore still trusts you to keep us alive?" Harry asked.

"I don't like it when I have to take a lethal shot, but I do it to keep a civilian or my teammates alive. The reason Dumbledore put you with me is because I am completely capable of fighting to the death to protect someone. And I have enough to deal with without you refusing to trust me, so if that's the road you're taking then I'll call Dumbledore myself to arrange your trip home." Tori pulled out her phone and set it on the table to emphasize her point.

No one said anything. She shook her head and walked out of the room.

Hermione swatted Harry's arm. "What did you do that for?"

"It was a legitimate question. If she's killed before-"

Draco cut him off. "It was part of her job Potter. And if you didn't notice it's really messed with her head. Not everyone who's done something that can be considered wrong is evil."

Everyone was stunned by Draco's outburst. George was the first to recover. "Well, someone needs to go try to fix this before we end up messing with whatever Dumbledore's game plan is. Harry and Malfoy seem a little too wound up to go and try to have a calming effect so who would like to volunteer?"

Ron took a step backwards. "One of the girls can do it."

Ginny sighed. "I'll do it."

Tori was sitting on her bedroom floor with a semi-circle of papers arranged around her. She was muttering to herself when Ginny got to the door. She looked up when she heard the knock. "Hi. Uh, come on in I guess. Sorry about the mess. Find a spot to sit, just please don't mess up any of this. There's a method to my madness and I finally have things arranged in a way that pieces are finally coming together."

Ginny carefully made her way to the empty patch of carpet next to Tori. "What are you doing?"

"A favor. I had to get a PI license to legally be able to do some of this, but it's totally worth it. My old caseworker from my foster care days sends me the files for kids who have run away. After a certain amount of time they're given up on, but I don't sleep much these days so I have a lot of time to find them. I got a pretty good return rate with her cases so other people she works with send in some too."

"That many kids run away?"

"If you had lived in some of the places I've lived in you would have run too. It's not as many as you think. I've only had to deal with one case at a time."

"Why do you do it?"

"These kids need to know that someone cares about what happens to them. I go to get them myself, and when I get them back I make sure they end up in a decent home."

"That's nice."

"Well It's what I wish someone would have done for me when I bolted. Instead I went right back to the place I had tried to escape."

Ginny didn't know what to say. Tori took advantage of the silence to rearrange some papers. "You know Harry didn't mean to hurt you. He just wanted to be sure we were safe here."

"Yeah I know."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Tori was just walking out of the room when everyone else came running down the hall.

Ron spoke first. "We have a bit of a problem."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What's going on?" Tori asked pushing her way through them to see who was at the door.

"The woman at the door is Bellatrix Lestrange. The biggest fanatic of Voldemort's followers."

She pulled a hunting knife out of her bedside drawer. One thing she definitely missed about America, a lot more freedom to own and carry guns. Even as a cop I would have to fill out a lot of paperwork to even have her taking her service pistol home considered. "Stay here. Stay hidden. And don't come out for anything."

"What are you going to do? She's not someone who can be reasoned with." Harry hissed as I started to head down the hall.

The bell rang again as she answered. "I'm a professional talker. And I'm armed. Not as much as I would like. But I can work with what I've got."

She closed the door behind her and jogged to the front door. She opened it just as Bellatrix hit the button a third time. "Sorry about that. Blasting some music in the back room. Didn't hear you at first. Can I help you?"

The woman at the door was honestly creeping Tori out a bit. Her hair was interesting if you wanted to be polite, a bit of a frizzed out mess if you wanted to be honest. She was trying very hard to blend into this world with the jeans and long sleeve shirt, but the combination she went with was odd enough to be borderline questionable. "I'm looking for someone and I believe they are staying here."

"Unless you're looking for a really bored cop then you've got the wrong house."

She glanced over my shoulder trying to find evidence of the lie. Seeing none she leaned forward. "I know they're here. We will get to them."

"Over my dead body."

"If that's what it will take." She straightened. "Have a nice night."

Tori closed the door and watched her go down the street and disappear around the corner. I gave it five minutes before going back to my room. "It's clear."

One by one they dragged themselves out from under my bed. I looked at them in shock. "There is no way natural or magical that you should all be able to fit under there."

"It was a bit of a squeeze. Next time could you get rid of the crazy witches a bit faster." Fred said with a grin.

Tori gave a half smile.

Tori woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. It was a new spin on the usual style. Tonight it was everyone who had ever written her off as a lost cause holding up articles about Nick and the kid she shot at the drug bust, and telling her they were right about her all along. As usual everything kept playing on a loop. She'd go through a door and end up walking right back into the room to see it all again.

She went into stealth mode as she went to the kitchen to get some water. On her way back to her room she noticed Draco was awake too. She sat on the couch next to him. "So what's keeping you up?"

He shrugged. "Just can't sleep. You?"

"Bad dreams."

"What were they about?"

"Random strangers telling me I've turned into the monster they thought I would be. The usual."

"Why would anyone think that about you?"

"Didn't you listen when I was talking that kid down? I'm a foster kid who's been through more homes than I can count. I've been labeled as unstable and violent. Everyone who looked at me only saw my file and figured I would turn out to be nothing. Well maybe not nothing. A couple picked up on the fact that I'm whip smart. They figured I would turn out to be a serial killer. Enough about my issues. What's got you so twisted up you can't sleep?"

"I'm never going to be able to convince them that I want to change. That I can change."

"What makes you think that?"

"Today after you told us about the wrongful death suit, they were quick to jump to the fact that you would be a danger to us. If they were so quick to turn when you did something you had to do to protect other people, how can they forgive me for letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts?"

"So you stop focusing on them and start focusing on you You think you can change? Then work on changing. Eventually they won't be able to ignore that you're defying everything they thought about you."

Draco smiled a little. "Is that what you did?"

"That is exactly what I did. And the funny part is I didn't start until some cop sat down and talked to me. Funny how life tends to come full circle."

"It still probably won't work. It will always be in the back of their heads. Whenever they look at me they'll be reminded."

"What?"

Draco rolled up his sleeve revealing the Dark Mark.

Tori raised her eyebrows. "Interesting tat. There's ways to get those removed."

"This isn't a tattoo. It's the Dark Mark. When you become a Death Eater Voldemort himself burns it into your skin with his wand. It connects us to him forever."

"Figured it would be more complicated than a little ink. If you want I can think up a few ways to get is permanently masked."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say I'm a master a covering things up with tattoos."

Draco glanced over her. The sweats and tank top she was wearing revealed no ink on her skin. "You have tattoos?"

She nodded and pointed to her collarbone where the stitches still were. "The one I get for this one is the first one that's in plain view."

"What will you get?"

"Don't know yet."

"What's that noise?" Draco asked picking up on a faint buzzing sound.

"My phone." She said sprinting back into her room. She picked up without checking caller id. "You realize it's stupid o'clock in the morning?"

"And yet you sound perfectly awake." A cool voice said on the other end of the line.

Tori stiffened. "How the hell did you get my number?"

"A father has a right to keep track of his children."

"Leaving an infant outside a police station means you've given up any and all parental rights."

"I was talking about Draco."

"Ah yes I forgot. Golden boy completely filled the the gap I couldn't."

"Where is he?"

"What on earth makes you think I have him?"

"We know Dumbledore sent all of them to you. I just want to check up on my son."

"He's fine. Feeling a bit like a fish out of water, but he'll adjust."

"I would like to speak to him."

"You can't."

"And why not?"

"Dumbledore left them with me because he thinks I can keep them safe. All of them. If Draco's here then that means he needs protecting from the same thing the rest of need protection from. Hell, he's already told me he figures you guys would want to kill him for being human enough not to go through with the plan. There's no way I'm letting you dig your claws even further into his head."

If Lucius had anything further to say she didn't hear it because she hung up and hurled her phone at her pillow. She glanced toward the door and saw Draco standing there. "You heard that whole thing didn't you?"

He nodded.

"Did you actually want to talk to him?"

"I don't know. He's my father, but.." he tailed off.

"I get it kid. Well not personally, but I've seen it plenty of times. You spend all this time loving and trusting someone, and they turn out to not be as amazing as you thought and even when what they do puts you in danger they don't let go."

"Doesn't matter much what I want. They know we're here. They'll find a way to get to us soon enough."

"You sir are a huge pessimist. There's no way I'm letting anyone hurt any one of you. Let the come, that means this whole thing will be over faster because I'll tear them to shreds."

Draco cracked a smile. "You just met us."

"I'm different than I used to be. I get attached very quickly these days. Besides you're family, I'm kind of required to look out for you. Now go get some sleep. Sarge is going to want me at the station where he can make sure I'm not losing my mind over that poor kid."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning it proved to be a bit more difficult to get everyone out of bed in time to get to the station in time for workout. By the time they made it there Team One was wrapping up.

Eddie spotted them first. "So they haven't been scared off yet?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "Obviously not."

"You good Tor?"

"Peachy."

He nodded. "Well at risk of further pushing of the grand tour, we were thinking of running some drills. If you all are interested."

A slow grin spread across Tori's face. "Any specific drills?"

"I was think starting with talk and then hitting the range if we still don't get a call."

"Brilliant. Who's up first?"

Sarge spoke up. "I was think you and Eddie play unstable junkies while Sam tries to keep you from taking out Wordy and Jules."

"Fantastic."

The Brits moved to stand by Sarge and Spike as Eddie and Tori snagged some fake Glocks and trained them on Wordy and Jules.

Sam opened things up. "I'm Sam Braddock, I'm part of the SRU. I just want to talk.

Tori glanced at Eddie who gave her a nod. She would be the talker, he would be the silent one. "Well talk."

"Can you tell me why we're all here today."

"How can I? I have no idea why you're here."

Sam was using all his restraint to not roll his eyes. "We got a call that there were people with guns. That's something polie take seriously."

"Yeah? Well this isn't really any of your business, so you all can just head on home."

"I can't do that."

"Well there's nothing else you can do."

"Look, I'm not here to argue. What will it take so we can all go home."

Tori smirked. In the field Sam was great at talk if he needed to do it. In the training room, he just wanted to get things over as soon as possible, and that quite often led to major screwups. "Yeah? How 'bout some coke? Get us a couple ounces and this is over."

Sam hesitated.

"Did you hear me?"

Eddie spoke. "I don't think he's taking us seriously."

Sam tried deescalate. "I'm taking this very seriously. But I can't get you drugs. You both are smart enough to know that.

"I pegged you as smart enough to figure out how to manipulate the system. You have thirty seconds."

"Let's just hit pause and talk this out."

"Twenty." She readjusted my grip on the fake gun.

Sam struggled to think of something to say.

"Ten."

Sam snapped. "I'm not getting you cocaine!"

"Bang, bang." Eddied said motioning to Wordy and Jules.

Tori put the fake gun down. "That was pathetic Braddock. Get your head in the game."

"Guess I'm a bit out of practice."

The alarm started going off.

Before joining the sprint to the locker room Spike called to Tori, "Second conference room is open. Go stealth though. Toth is doing interviews with Team 3 in One."

"What did that mean?" Hermione asked.

"It means be quiet and follow my lead."

Tori snagged the equipment they would need and carefully lead them past the door to the first conference room before booking it to the second one. ONce Fred was in and closed the door behind him Tori started setting up the computer.

"You going to tell us what's going on?" Ron asked.

"There's a psychologist doing the routine check on Team Three. New policy. It used to by Sergeants who did the evaluations. Anyway, everyone hates him especially Team One. From the moment he set foot in the door he was set on breaking us up. The last thing any of us needs is for me to go another round with him."

"And why is that?" Harry asked.

"When it comes to getting one of us moved, demoted, or fired I'm one of the ones he has the most leverage for. I'm the youngest, the newest, and have most recently gone through the most shit. Not to mention my record from my foster days. Now do be so kind as to shut up. They're on scene."

"What do we have so far?" Sarge asked.

"Two teenage boys. One has a gun trained on the other. The one with the gun is freaking out." Sam reported.

"Any names?" Tori asked.

"I have a friend here. He's the one who called the boy with the gun is Sam Williams, the other guy is Gabe Price."

"I'll look up Williams." Spike said.

"I've got Price."

Two minutes later Spike came back on. "I'm not finding anything. This kid is squeaky clean."

Another thirty seconds and I had my piece of dirt. "Found it. Just this morning a Miss Kelsey Williams filed sexual assault charges against a Mr. Gabrial Price. Looks like big brother thought he could do justice better than the cops."

"That's something I can work with." Sarge said. "Sam Williams? My name is Greg Parker, I'm with the police Strategic Response Unit. Why are we all here today? Does this have to do with what happened to your sister?"

There was too much distance for the transponder to pick up what the reply was.

"I understand what it's like to watch someone you love go through hell and not be able to do a thing to help them. But this isn't going to help your sister. She needs you to be there for her, and you can't do that if you go to jail. Let him be the one to go to jail, not you."

An hour of emotional words later and the gun was down and Hermione and Ginny were tearing up. Tori closed the laptop. "Any questions?"

"He's still going to jail isn't he?" Harry asked.

"Depends on the judge."

"But he pulled a gun on that kid."

"He was protecting his sister. Weren't you listening? She was messed up for weeks keeping that in. When he heard he didn't know she had already gone to the cops. He wasn't thinking with his head. He was just thinking with his heart."

"There still could have been a better way to handle it. There had to have been."

"There probably was. But the thing is people get wound up and they don't think straight. They get pushed to the end and they do things they end up regretting. This is our job. This is what we do. Busts are fun, but the main thing we do is get people who have been pushed too far to back up and look around and see the other options. It sucks sometimes, but it's the best job ever. You can watch people change for the better and take the first step on turning their life around. Now tour time."

By the time Tori gave everyone the grand tour the day was looking to be pretty much a wash. Figuring nothing new would pop up we headed back early.

When they got back Tori started working on Mama Scarlatti's recipe for lasagna. Hermione and Ginny helped while the boys sat at the table. "So any idea on why you're here exactly?"

"I thought you said that it was because you would be the best at protecting us." Harry said.

"Yeah, but what about when the summer is over and you guys have to go back to school. And if you don't go back to school then there must be something else you should be doing. You can't just stay here indefinitely when the enemy is gaining power and the only one who can end it all is just sitting in my kitchen."

"Perhaps we're here to get you to come back with us." Fred suggested.

"Why? I'm not a wizard."

"You have the bloodline for it. I'm sure if you actually tried to do some magic you would be able to do it."

"In case you haven't caught on, I've talked to Dumbledore a lot these past three years. I've tried some magic before. It didn't work."

Draco spoke up. "Maybe it's because you didn't believe you could do it."

"What?"

"It's like all those movies you showed us. The magic's in you. You just have to believe it enough for it to work."

"I am hardly Disney movie material."

"It makes sense though." Hermione said. "You don't want it to be real so you're somehow blocking the power."

"Fairytales might be real for you guys, but they aren't real for me. Now food time."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next morning Tori was awakened by a bowl of water being dumped over her head. "What the hell?" She asked rolling over to see who the perpetrators were.

"About bloody time." Fred said setting the bowl on the nightstand. "We've been trying to get you up for over an hour. We were going to set fire to the kitchen next."

"I've been waking you all up at four in the morning. Why did you not take advantage of a chance to sleep in?"

"Yes, why couldn't we do that?" Ron asked from the doorway.

Tori raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter Ron? Scared of something?"

"Just figured it would be better if I wasn't killed because my brother thought it would be a good idea to pour water on you."

Hermione came down the hall. "Oh good. You finally got her up."

"I'm awake, not up. I could just as easily roll back over and go back to sleep."

"But you won't because we have a lot of work to do."

"We do?"

"You have a lot of catching up to do."

"Hermione, I don't do magic."

"You have it in you, I know you do."

"Last time I checked I didn't get an owl at my window when I turned eleven."

"It was probably part of Dumbledore's plan. To have you be a secret weapon when we need it most."

"Glad to know I was only ever going to be tracked down when I proved to be useful. That doesn't change the fact that I simply refuse to do magic."

"Why not?"

"Because dearie, magic always comes with a price."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is not that show you watch. This is reality."

"Yes and reality dictates that magic is not real."

"You know by now that it is."

"Yes, but I won't do it."

"Would you just stop talking in circles and just tell me why you won't even try." Hermione burst out.

Tori sighed and stood up. "I'm finally normal. I would like to stay that way for more than nine months."

"There's no way it can just be that."

Everyone else came to see what all the fuss was about. "Just drop it Hermione." Draco warned.

"You said yourself Draco that she can do it she just needs to believe it."

"It was an idea. I don't know if it's absolutely certain."

Tori shook her head. "I believe it's real. I believe I could potentially do it. I'm just never going to actually do it."

"Why are you suddenly acting like a coward?" Hermione covered her mouth the moment her words registered in her mind.

Tori gave a twisted smile. "Come on girl genius. Figure it out. Running is what I do best. These days I run into situations most people run away from. I got her by running to a different country. I spent most of my life running away from people who didn't want me around. And this right here is more running. Whether or not I can do magic is not a debate. It is absolute certainty. I can do magic. I just refuse to ever use it again. It cost the one good home I had."

She left them in stunned silence.

After about forty seconds the silence was broken by a knock on the door. Tori answered without checking to see who was at the door. She opened it a bit saw who it was and slammed the door shut. Tried to anyway. The man at the door swung his walking stick into the doorway to prevent the door from closing. "Now is that any way to greet your father?"

"As if my morning couldn't get any worse."


End file.
